7D Saga Continues
I thought that the second time that I sent my 7D back to Canon for service would be last, but I was sadly mistaken. Got the camera back a week ago from Canon and they replaced the same “mirror box assembly” as they did the first time. Took it out on Friday to shoot and everything was looking good for about 600 shots and then it started acting up again with the same error 20 message and locked up mirror. Hoping that the 3rd time is really the charm. I love this camera but this is getting old very fast.
Mating Terns
Here is a shot of some Terns mating just after sunrise from Bryan Beach, TX. This is where a high frames/sec camera comes in handy. Got several shots but only one with the wings spread like this.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens with ground pod.
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 200, spot metering, no flash
My Back-up 40D Died
Had my back-up camera die this weekend while waiting for my 7D to be repaired. Not unexpected however. The shutter on my 40D was sounding real funky about a year ago which led to my 7D upgrade. I had already replaced the shutter once. It completely crashed this weekend while taking some shorebird photos. Hoping to get my 7D back this week. Still waiting on the e-mail from Canon to say that it shipped. Not sure if I’ll put $216 into the old 40D or not to repair it.
Changing Light – Get There Early!
What a difference 50 minutes can make for morning light. I always encourage everyone to shoot around sunrise or sunset to get the best light for wildlife photos. Here is an example of how quickly light can change early in the morning. The first shot, taken at 7:30 a.m., shows the golden light that you can get around sunrise. The second shot is of the same Great Blue Heron only 50 minutes later. Which one do you like better? My preference is the first one. In order to get a more pleasing shot on the second one, I moved to my left to get more of the sun in the background so that it would be a silhouette shot. Reduced the exposure compensation by -1 stop and got the last picture.
The lighting in your photo’s can make all the difference. So get out and shoot early or stay until sunset and take advantage of the good light while it lasts.
7:30 a.m. around sunrise
8:20 a.m., 50 minutes after the first shot
Just after second shot
Spoke too soon about 7D being fixed
Took my newly repaired 7D to Brazos Bend yesterday to test it out. It was great to be shooting with it again until the mirror started locking up with the same error 20. Sent it back to Canon for another round of repairs. Hopefully second time is the charm.
7D Repaired
I got my 7D back today from Canon. The repair ticket said: “mirror box cam gear assembly, back cover and CF cover assembly was replaced and product functions were confirmed. The image sensor assembly was cleaned. Other electrical adjustments, inspection and cleaning and parts replacements were carried out.”
This ended up not being a warranty repair because they found “rust on the body”. Apparently salt water and cameras don’t really mix after all. Total cost including sales tax and shipping was $216, which is about the same price that I’ve had to pay for previous shutter replacements on my other cameras. Must be a universal price for most repairs.
Here is a timeline in case anyone is interested in how long it may take for Canon to repair a camera.
4/8 – Camera started acting up with error 20 and mirror kept locking up
4/9 – Tried camera again but still had same problem. Came home and went to Canon website to fill out the repair request form. Got an e-mail from Canon very quickly with authorization/repair order number. Boxed up the camera and dropped off with Fed Ex for 3 day delivery
4/14 – camera arrived at Canon factory service center in Irvine, CA
4/18 – Received e-mail from Canon with estimated repair cost and notice that it wouldn’t be a warranty repair. The e-mail said: “Error 20. Also rust on body, CF door sticks – difficult to open, specified issue not covered under warranty”
4/19 – Called Canon to discuss warranty repair issue. Didn’t win the argument and wanted my camera repaired/returned ASAP so I went on-line and paid for the repair via credit card
4/20 – Received e-mail from Canon that the repair had been completed and the camera was being shipped that day back to me via Fed Ex
4/22 – Received camera around 11:00 a.m.
Now going to take some time to reset all of the custom functions back to where I had them. As stated in my other post, when they repair a camera, they reset every setting back to the original factory settings. Hoping to get out this weekend to try this puppy out. All is right with the world again. Well, my little part of it anyway…
Mating Laughing Gulls
It’s never good when your partner is laughing during mating activities but apparently these birds can’t help it. Hence the name, Laughing Gulls. Took this shot at San Luis Pass. Lots of gulls, terns and skimmers hanging around with the occasional mating going on. My philosophy is that if they want to do it in front of me, I’m going to take their picture. Circle of life type moment which makes for some good action shots.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on Skimmer ground pod
Nest Building at High Island
Made another trip to the High Island on 4/17. Hardly no one around and very few skeeters so it was a nice change of pace. I was hoping to get some decent back-lit shots at sunrise but the birds weren’t cooperating except for a couple on the manmade platforms, which make such a lovely perch in the photos. I was going to leave early but decided to stick around. The action got better as the light got worse but it was still all good. There were one pair of Great Egrets that were putting on a good nest building show. One was sitting on the eggs when the other would fly to the ground to pick up what you would think was the largest stick in the world with all of the fanfare when he got back to the nest. This guy wasn’t finding much from a size perspective but it seemed to be all for show anyway. They did this several times in a row and I spent about 1/2 hr focused only on them.
Since my 7D is in the shop getting repaired, these were taken with the ‘ol 40D and my 100-400 lens. I usually use aperature priority but decided to switch to manual mode this time for last half of the morning. Worked very well as the sun got higher in the sky and the lighting changes were less intense than right at sunrise.
1/100 sec at F5.6, ISO 500, spot metering, aperture priority. The red dots is the sun poking through the trees.
1/1250 sec at F5.6, ISO 250, -1/3 exp comp, spot metering, aperture priority
1/800 sec at F6.3, ISO 200, manual mode
1/800 sec at F6.3, ISO 200, manual mode
1/1000 sec at F6.3, ISO 200, manual mode
1/1000 sec at F6.3, ISO 200, manual mode
1/800 sec at F6.3, ISO 200, manual mode
1/800 sec at F7.1, ISO 200, manual mode
Great Egrets in a Fog
I’m a big fan of foggy weather. I love it when the sun comes poking though the fog early in the morning. That was not to be on this outing to High Island rookery in late March. Lots of fog with lots of clouds. Tried to make the best of it with some Great Egret shots. Another nice to have at High Island is a little wind so that the breeding plumage feathers get some movement and definition. It also gives them a “beatnik” look, IMO. Although, I may just be having a flashback from the 60’s…
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on tripod, no flash.
1/320 sec @ F5,6, ISO 250, spot metering, +1 exp compensation
1/400 sec @ F5,6, ISO 400, spot metering, +1 exp compensation
1/320 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation
1/400 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation
1/500 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation
1/640 sec @ F5,6, ISO 320, spot metering, +1 exp compensation
Black Skimmers
I participated in FeatherFest again this year with helping out Larry Ditto on his advanced photography field trip and class. The field trip went to San Luis Pass west of Galveston. I haven’t been there in a few years so it was nice to go back and check it out. The weather wasn’t very cooperative with fog and cloudy sky’s. Typical around here lately. Luckily there were some black skimmers around. I took my ground pod and shot from the prone position most of the time.
Had a great time and got to meet some nice people and to see Larry again. The class room setting the following day included a critique of the photos from the previous day. Larry did a very good job with the critique. The session ran a little long but most everyone stayed to see all of the photos.
Here are a few of my shots, taken in between my lock-up issues with my camera. My first skimmers actually skimming this year.
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens
1/400 sec @ F5,6, +1 exp comp, ISO 800, spot metering, fill flash with better beamer
1/640 sec @ F4.5, +1 exp comp, ISO 500, spot metering, fill flash with better beamer
1/1000 sec @ F5,6, +1 exp comp, ISO 400, spot metering, fill flash with better beamer
Canon 7D Custom Function Settings
I’ve had a few people interested in my 7D settings so I’ve decided to share them. The Canon 7D is a great camera with many advantages over my old 40D. However, it is more complicated to use and set up properly. I did lots of research on the web and got advice from other photographers on the custom function settings. Here are my settings for wildlife photography. Once you get the settings that you like, I’d highly recommend that you write them down. If you send your camera in for repairs, like me, they change all of your settings back to the original factory settings. If you didn’t write them down you have to start over again.
| Custom Function | Description | Setting | Setting Description | Notes |
| C.Fn I: Exposure | ||||
| 1 | Exposure level increments | 0 | 1/3 stop | |
| 2 | ISO speed setting increments | 0 | 1/3 stop | |
| 3 | ISO Expansion | 1 | On | |
| 4 | Bracketing auto cancel | 0 | On | |
| 5 | Bracketing sequence | 0 | 0,-,+ | |
| 6 | Safety shift | 1 | Enable | |
| 7 | Flash sync speed in AV mode | 0 | Auto | |
| C.Fn II: Image | ||||
| 1 | Long exposure noise reduction | 0 | off | |
| 2 | High ISO speed noise reduction | 0 | standard | Affects JPG’s only. Depends on how much in-camera noise reduction that you want when shooting jpgs. |
| 3 | Highlight tone priority | 0 | disable | may cause more noise if enabled |
| C.Fn III: Autofocus/Drive | ||||
| 1 | AI Servo tracking sensitivity | 1 | Slow | Keeps AF from hunting too quickly if you lose focus temporarily |
| 2 | AI Servo 1st/2nd image priority | 0 | AF priority/tracking priority | |
| 3 | AI Servo AF tracking method | 1 | Continuous AF track priority | |
| 4 | Lens drive when AF impossible | 0 | Focus search on | |
| 5 | AF microadjustment | 0 | Disable | |
| 6 | Select AF area select move | varies | ||
| 7 | Manual AF point selection pattern | 1 | Continuous | |
| 8 | VF display illumination | 1 | Enable | |
| 9 | Display all AF points | 0 | Disable | |
| 10 | Focus display in AI Servo MF | 0 | Enable | |
| 11 | AF assist beam firing | 1 | Disable | |
| 12 | Orientation linked AF point | 1 | Select different AF points | |
| 13 | Mirror lockup | 0 | disable | |
| C.Fn IV: Operation / Others | ||||
| 1 | Custom controls | default | personal perference | |
| 2 | Dial direction during TV/AV | 0 | Normal | |
| 3 | Add image verification data | 0 | disable | |
| 4 | Add aspect ration information | 0 | Off |
My 7D is D.O.A.
My Canon 7D died this weekend. It started acting up on Friday at FeatherFest at San Luis Pass. Shutter would lock up with error 20. Took the battery out and got it to work after trying it several times. Went back out yesterday to Brazos Bend and it started doing it again. Took it back to the car and got my 40D. I forgot how much difference there is between the 7D and the 40D. The autofocus on the 7D blows the 40D out of the water. There is no comparison. Got frustrated and left early. Packed the 7D up and sent it back to Canon for repairs.
I’m guessing that the shutter will have to be replaced, which is a surprise since I’ve only had it since last June. I’m guessing that I’ve got around 100,000 actuations with 85 shooting trips in the last 10 months. The 7D’s shutter is supposed to be rated for 150,000 actuations. I’ve been through 4 shutters on my other cameras so this may be the 5th. I’ll just have to wait and see what Canon says.
Flight of the Pelican
Here is a shot of a couple of Brown Pelicans taken from the Bolivar ferry which runs from Galveston Island to the Bolivar peninsula. The ferry is a great place to get up close to pelicans and gulls. The focusing on the 7D came though again on this one.
1/1,000 sec @ F 5.6, +1 exp compensation, ISO 250, spot metering
Nesting Ritual at High Island
The rookery at High Island is my favorite place to go this time of year. Lots of Great Egrets, Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets and a few others right in front of you. The best place around to get up close and personal with the birds. I usually get there way too early before the sun comes up and have to use a flashlight along the trail to get to the platforms. I didn’t used to use a flashlight until I found an alligator on the trail one year. I love the back lighting that you can get in the morning. The sun comes up in your face but the lighting can be magic. Just have to put up with a few thousand mosquitos at that time of day.
The Great Egrets are fun to watch when they build their nests. They make quite the scene when one finds a stick and brings it back to the nest. Lots of squawking ensues and you would have thought that he brought back a gold plated stick, but no, just a stick.
All taken with Canon 7D on tripod.
1/640 sec @F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, + 1/3 exp compensation
1/250 sec @F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, + 2/3 exp compensation
Coyote at Bolivar Flats
Got up at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, like usual, and checked the weather. Looked cloudy on radar but I don’t trust the weatherman. Went outside and looked up. Stupid weatherman was right, for once, at least in my neck of the woods. Decided to go out and shoot anyway since the radar looked similar to Sat morning which turned out to have some sun. Decided to head South this time to Bolivar as I haven’t been there is a few weeks. Not a good sign at the ferry with some flags blowing in a stiff wind. Got to the beach and saw that the waves were fairly high and decided that it was going to be a bust for bird shooting. Had someone following me driving on the beach so I decided to turn off and let them by. Headed down the beach again and saw what I thought was a dog taking garbage out of one of the garbage cans near the fence. Quickly realized that it was a Coyote. Pulled up fairly close with my bright lights on and watched him. Then decided that I should try to get a picture even though it was pitch black out with only my headlights for illumination. Said what the heck and then remembered that my camera was in the trunk. Decided to back up and drove backwards down the beach for a ways and then got out and grabbed my camera. Headed back towards him and he was luckily still there. Cranked the ISO up to 3200 and tried to get some shots after opening up my door and shooting between the door and the car. He apparently couldn’t see me with my headlights in his eyes. Got very slow shutter speeds. Moved the ISO up to 6400 and got off a few more shots before he ran away.
It was very cool to see a Coyote that close. Just wish that it would have been after sunrise but I’m sure that he wouldn’t have stuck around like he did. Took this shot at ISO 3200 and 1/25 sec shutter speed. No noise reduction on this shot. Not a sharp picture by any means but decent enough for me to remember what happened. He had lots of garbage at his feet that I cloned out. I had seen animal tracks at Bolivar before and often wondered if there were any Coyotes around. Guess there are. Continued down the beach to the parking area, turned the car around and headed back to the ferry. No birds for me at Bolivar that day but a cool encounter with a Coyote made the trip worth it.
Bird Photography Workshop
Had a great time last week hanging out with the Woodlands Photography Club. I was invited to put on a bird photography workshop including a separate class and a field trip to Brazos Bend State Park, thanks Lisa. The class covered equipment, camera settings, techniques, local locations and my golden rules. Topped it off with a slide show with some of my photos. The session ran over the 1 1/2 hour timeframe due to getting lots of questions during the presentation. I’m hoping that they picked up some new information that they can use in their photography outings.
It was a great way to spend my birthday. I’m looking forward to doing this again.
Photo Exhibition at Tommy’s Restaurant
For anyone who wants to eat some great food and check out some of my shore bird pictures, I’ve got 8 of them on display at Tommy’s Restaurant/Oyster Bar in the Clear Lake area on Bay Area Blvd, see link below. Got the opportunity through fellow Bay Area Photo Club member Peter Bowman. Thanks Peter and thanks Tom for allowing me to display my photo’s in your restaurant. All photo’s are mated in 20″ x 24″ frames and are for sale. Took the day off on Tuesday and spent a couple of hours hanging them and ate lunch there as well. The grilled shrimp po boy is to die for. They will be on display for two months until May 23.
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Bathing Long Billed Curlews
A few shots from the archives of a couple of Long Billed Curlews taking a bath at Bolivar Flats. Got fairly close to them as they were splashing away.
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on ground pod
1/1250 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering
1/800 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering
1/320 sec @ F7.1, +1 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering
1/800 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 200, evaluative metering
1/16000 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp, ISO 200, evaluative metering
GRAPHIC – Feeding Raptor
Found this hawk feeding away on a rodent at Anahuac NWR. These shots were taken out the car window and was able to get very close to him. He was more interested in eating breakfast than me taking his picture. I screwed up and had my camera set to +1 exp compensation for flight shots and didn’t adjust it until later in this series. Got several shots that were too blown out on the whites. Should have known better but got a little excited coming upon this scene that I didn’t pay enough attention to what I was doing. Also had to change memory cards. There were lots of weeds around him and some of the best graphic shots have too many weeds in front of him. Still a good time and even got some shots of him cleaning his talons. A car came by and spooked him which allowed for some full frame flight shots.
All taken with Canon 7d and 100-400 lens, hand held out the car window
1/800 sec @ F5.6, +1 exp comp., ISO 320, spot metering, no flash
1/800 sec @ F6.3, +2/3 exp comp., ISO 250, spot metering, no flash
1/800 sec @ F6.3, +2/3 exp comp., ISO 250, spot metering, no flash
1/1600 sec @ F6.3, +1/3 exp comp., ISO 250, spot metering, no flash
1/2,000 sec @ F7.1, +1/3 exp comp., ISO 250, spot metering, no flash
Brazos Bend at Sunrise
Made another road trip to Brazos Bend State Park last weekend. Not much happening there but still a good time to get out. Tried sitting down on the bank with the tripod and was able to get the Grebe with wings spread
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens
1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, no flash
1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, spot metering, no flash
1/2500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 250, spot metering, no flash
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, + 2/3 exposure comp., spot metering, no flash
1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 400, + 2/3 exp. comp, spot metering, flash @ -3 stops with better beamer
Snowy Egret Fishing
From the 2010 archives, here is a series of shots taken at Bolivar Flats of a Snowy Egret fishing. This was a great day at Bolivar with Snowy’s and Reddish Egrets everywhere. Haven’t seen this much concentrated activity since then.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on ground pod
1/3,200 to 1/5,000 sec @F5.6, + 2/3 exp. comp, ISO 200, spot metering, no flash
Willet
A few Willet shots from a recent trip to Bolivar Flats with Sheldon. Trying to go back as much as possible before it gets too warm to wear the waders. Took these shortly after the sun came up. Got a few decent reflection shots from a standing position but liked the colors much better after getting down low. Got good color reflecting from the shoreline.
All taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens on ground pod.
1/16oo sec @ F5.6, +2/3 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering, no flash (it broke)
1/8oo sec @ F5.6, +2/3 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering, no flash (it broke)
1/8oo sec @ F5.6, +2/3 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering, no flash (it broke)
1/16oo sec @ F5.6, +2/3 exp comp, ISO 250, spot metering, no flash (it broke)
Foggy Background
Here are a few more shots of the fog from Bolivar. After the sunrise shots, you could see the tops of the Galveston buildings stick up through the fog along with some ships coming into port.
Foggy Sunrise
The fog was very thick all the way to Bolivar. The sun peaked through the fog just as I had hoped. I laid down to catch the Godwit’s and the moved to the poles to get the Great Blue Heron on its perch. The sun was fairly high up for the GBH shot so I had to use more negative exposure compensation to keep the sun from blowing out too much. Interesting tip about the 7D, you can go beyond the -3 stops in exposure compensation that shows on the camera. If you keep turning the dial, you can get much lower. The 3rd photo was taken at -5.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens
1/6400 sec @ F10, ISO 200, -3 exp. comp., evaluative metering, ground pod
1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 200, -1 2/3 exp. comp., evaluative metering, ground pod
1/8000 sec @ F7.1, ISO 100, -5 exp. comp., evaluative metering, hand held
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 250, evaluative metering, hand held
Tim Timmis Photography 
